Course Correction
by GencoOliveOil
Summary: Spoilers for Season 5, Post Incident - Before Oceanic 815 leaves Sydney for Los Angeles, Sawyer gets his memories back of his 3 years on the island. But does anyone else remember?
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: **Special thanks goes to KNJ over at The Fuselage for pushing and pushing me to write a story. I'm doing this for her.

Also, many thanks to KaydenceRei, who continually amazes me with her writing talent. I would not be doing this without you either.

Please Review! Disclaimer: I own nothing

**Chapter 1**

This was the day to finally get his revenge, to kill the devil that ruined his life.

It was a cloudy afternoon in Sydney as Sawyer walked into a metal workshop-type place along the harbor. We waited for Hibbs' contact to come out from the back.

"You must be Hibbs' mate," said Laurence, handing Sawyer a gun to carry out his plan. "I did a few jobs with Hibbs back in the States. Nice enough fella."

Sawyer gave a sarcastic look. "He's a son of a bitch."

"Right, indeed he is. A few disclaimers: Australia doesn't allow its citizens to carry handguns. You get nicked with this. ..."

Sawyer shook his head. "I'm not going to rat you out."

"Secondly, you know, I've been doing this for awhile and a man who buys a compact 357 with hollow point loads -- he's not looking to scare or steal. He's looking to kill. But when it comes down to it, if he finds he doesn't have what it takes to do the job. . . "

"Your sales pitch needs some work."

Laurence concluded: "What I'm saying is, you look a man in the eye and you point a gun at him, you find who you really are, mate. And should you find you're not a killer, there's no refund."

Sawyer leaves with a determined look on his face. He had been waiting 27 years for this moment, and no one was going to talk him out of it. He heads over to the shrimp stand.

Slowly, Sawyer exits his car, with his gun concealed.

Duckett immediately notices Sawyer. "Only two choices, shrimp in mild sauce, shrimp in hot sauce"

Sawyer is lost in thought and does not respond.

"Pal?"

Sawyer finally responds and cocks his gun. "I'll go with the hot."

"Hot it is. Fellow American, huh? Good for you. You missed the lunch rush. Whereabouts you from?"

"Tennessee."

"Yeah. I love the south. Miss those southern women." Duckett laughs. " In Australia long?"

"Not really."

"For what it's worth, we've got a special at the truck here. Half price for all Americans. Name's Frank, by the way."

"James."

"Good to meet you, James. One shrimp and hot sauce."

He turns to hand Sawyer the shrimp, but Sawyer's gone. We hear the sound of his car driving away.

*********

_"When you look a man in the eye and you point a gun at him, you find who you really are, mate."_

Damn that Son of a bitch, putting doubt in my head, Sawyer thought. He starts to drive to a bar - a bar that in another reality he would share a drink with a Christian Shepherd - the man who gave him the drive to carry out his revenge. Instead, he pulls off the road when he is slowly hit with a massive headache -

"_You're a blight, a stain, a scavenger. You're a conman who prays on the weak and the needy. Tell me something, James, how do you live with yourself?" _

"_I do just fine." _

"_Do you? You're not even worth what it would cost us to incarcerate you. Which is why you're being deported. Your plane leaves this afternoon. And, James, you'll better never setting foot in Australia again." _

What the hell was that? That memory seemed so real. But that never happened before – or did it?

Another flash burned into his brain:

"_And I'm sure the first thing you did when you got here, James, was to gather everyone in a circle, and tell them about the man you shot in cold blood before you got on the plane."_

Who was that woman? I have never seen her before. And why does it matter what she thinks of me? I haven't killed anyone!

_Sawyer: "You want him dead, you kill him." _

"_I'm not a murderer". _

"_Neither am I!" _

"_Except for the man you killed in Sydney. They got files on us, James. All of us." _

Who did that bald fella want me to kill? Did I kill again?

"_A conman goes by many names friend. I've been Alan Seward, Anthony Cooper, Ted MacLaren, Tom Sawyer, Louis Jackson, and Paul..." _

"_Tom Sawyer." _

"_I was young and Huck Finn was taken. And the ladies loved that one. Made me charming." _

"_Well how about that." _

"_How about what?" _

"_Sawyer's my name too."_

Sawyer's head was throbbing and the flashes would not stop. Who was this guy? Was he about to kill the wrong man?

"_Look, I only took her money. It ain't my fault your dad overreacted."_

"_FINISH IT!!!!!!"_

"_Ok. Ok."_

_The old man rips the letter into pieces and Sawyer starts chocking the life out of him!_

"_You wanna go to Hell?!?! You wanna go to Hell?!?!?"_

The rain started to pour. Sawyer was in tears as the flashes continued. In spite of this, he turned the key headed back to the shrimp stand.

_"Sawyer!"_

_The gunshot hits Duckett in the chest. _

"_I've got a letter for you. 'Dear Mr. Sawyer...' "_

"_Who?"_

"_You used to go by the name of Sawyer."_

"_What the hell are you talking about? You didn't have to -- tell Hibbs I would've paid."_

Sawyer cries and pounds the dashboard relentlessly. He pulls over in front of the shrimp stand.

"Frank Duckett?"

"You're back! Would you like that hot shrimp now, mate?. I am just about to close."

Sawyer holds his hands out to show he is not armed.

"Hibbs… he sent me to kill you. Conned me into thinking you were someone I was looking for from my past. We'll I know now you are not him and …"

Duckett was shaking "And what?"

"I just wanted to let you know … knowing him, he'll probably send someone else when he finds out I didn't do it. You'll want to watch your back."

Sawyer turns back to his car.

"Mate?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

***

Sawyer checked into a hotel. His head was throbbing. Memories of 3 years that he never lived kept flooding his head over the next several hours. Most of them focused on this blonde woman who seemed to know him better than he knew himself. And a plane crash.

_Something you wanna ask me, Sawyer? _

_Yeah Jack I wanna ask you why you're fighting every one of us and sticking up for one of them._

He hated her? Why? Memories of distrust? Then deep love and a deep connection? He never loved any woman before. _How _could he be remembering this?

_Look, I'm sorry. I should've listened to you when you wanted to get on this sub three years ago. _

_I'm glad you talked me out of it._

_**** _

_You were amazing today. _

_Thank you for believing in me. _

*****

_He's right. It ain't safe. Put the women and children on the sub and get 'em the hell out of here. And if you put me and Juliet on the sub with 'em... we'll tell you anything you wanna know. You okay with that, sweetheart? _

_Absolutely._

*****

_We decided to leave this Island, James, we did. And now we're going back._

_*****_

_Don't you leave me. _

_It's okay. _

_Don't you leave me!_

_I love you. _

_No, you don't let go! _

_I love you, James. _

_Don't let go. _

_I love you so much. _

_No! No, don't let go! _

*****

_Juliet! __No!_

_It's going down! This thing is gonna go! You have to let it go. _

_You have to go. This thing is going to blow at any second. _

_No! _

_Jack! Jack, help me get him off._

Sawyer lay motionless on his bed sobbing for the next several hours.

****

The next day he started to make sense of his new memories.

Whatever happened didn't happen. At least not in this reality.

Frank Duckett was still alive. He'll still die. Someday. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe in 10 years, but it wouldn't be by my hand. Christian Shepherd. Jack's dad. He would never meet him. Neither would the Honorable Warren Truss, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry, whom he head butted in a bar last night.

So I'm not being deported, he thought. He could avoid Flight 815 and not crash on that miserable island. Assuming the plane still crashes there. But Juliet? Would she still be there?

Sawyer walked over to a internet café and makes a few calls. As best as he can tell, Juliet Burke has not been in Miami in at least 3 years. If she is not there, she is probably still on the island.

There is one more call to make.

"Oceanic Airlines? I'd like to book a flight on flight 815 tomorrow afternoon. Yes, Los Angeles. My name is James Ford. Is seat 15B available? Great."

After he gives them the rest of his information, Sawyer hangs up the phone and closes his eyes slowly.

******

As James Ford boarded Flight 815, he walked by a number of familiar faces, many that he knew by name, Many he knew personal details of. But none he had ever met before.

He made eye contact with several of them. Locke. Jack. Sayid. Hurley. Ana Lucia who jumped him in the jungle. Kate, now in handcuffs, escorted by a Marshall.

None of them indicated any recognition. He was a total stranger to all of them.

As the jet engines roared, the plane moves down the runway, preparing to takeoff.

Sawyer sat back and gathered his thoughts. Am I actually hoping this plane crashes? Am I losing my mind? Is Juliet still alive and even if she is, will _she_ remember?


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Thank you everyone for your kind words. I appreciate the reviews and please keep them coming! Thank you KNJ, for being there for me with this story!

**Chapter 2**

Sawyer's eyes snap open, looking up at an open blue sky. He struggles to pull himself up while he takes a breath in a field just outside the beach.

He runs to the beach and can't believe the site that has fallen before his eyes. He sees the wreckage. People wounded and calling for help. One of the engines is still spinning. It was surreal watching the aftermath of the crash all over again

There is Jack, already playing hero. He and Locke and a group of others free a man from a piece of metal. Jack rips the man's pants to get to the wound.

"All right, get him out of here!" Jack tells Locke. "Get him away from the engine! Get him out of here!" He runs over to Claire through the wreckage.

Sawyer looks on stunned from a distance, puzzled. We'll Jacko; everything seems to be playing out exactly how it did the last time. The chaos seemed like an exact replay of the memories that poured into his head over the last couple of days.

Then he wondered should I get involved? Whatever happened before happened right? I wasn't involved before. Damn, that H.G. Faraday logic doesn't matter here – of course I should get involved.

Another guy walks in front of the engine and Locke screams "Hey! Get away from there!"

The guy gets sucked into the engine and the engine explodes. Jack and Hurley shield themselves over Claire. Sawyer is still too far away to do anything.

As Sawyer walks down the beach he notices the unconscious Marshall Mars with a gun in an ankle holster and he takes it, knowing full well he is going to need it in a few hours.

Sawyer remembers that no one else died that day. I don't need to get involved. Dr. Giggles has got (or will get) everything under control. I can go start to look for Juliet …

Wait a second. What about the pilot?

Son of a bitch.

_Juliet: We can't just let those people die. You want out? Or do you want to stay here and whine about it?_

_Sawyer: Unlock the damn cuffs. _

Once he fell for Juliet, it was all over for Sawyer. James would win that fight every time. And while Sawyer might want to look the other way when someone was in trouble, James could not.

Seth Norris, the pilot of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815, was lying unconscious at this moment in the cockpit, several hours inland. The last time around it wasn't until about 16 hours after the crash that Jack, Kate and Charlie found him. But soon after the pilot was torn apart by the Smoke Monster. If he gets there now, his death could be avoided.

"Ok Oceanic Pilot. You don't get to die alone this time". Sawyer, pissed that his conscience his getting in his way of finding his woman, starts to head out into the jungle.

***

Sawyer makes his way to the cockpit wreckage about 3 hours before Jack. There is no hint of Smokey in the vicinity but that will change soon.

He climbs up through the front of the aircraft. Dead bodies all over the wreckage. He struggles to open the door to the cockpit.

"Son of a bitch! Open up will ya!" The door finally opens and a body falls out.

Sawyer walks over to the pilot, unsure how to proceed. Norris is hurt and it would not be wise to move him. But if he doesn't move him he is going to die for sure. He looks around for the transceiver.

"C'mon. (lightly taps his face)" Seth takes a breath, as he did when he woke up for Jack in the previous reality.

"Hey! Are you ok?"

"How many survived?"

"At least 48. We crashed on an island. Are you all right?"

"Not too bad. Nothing is broken. Just my head's a little dizzy, that's all"

"Look I am no doctor, but there is one who survived on the beach," Sawyer spoke quickly. "I'm sure if he were here he would insist that you don't move. But we have got to get you out of here. There isn't much time."

"How long has it been?"

"About 13 hours. Look, we've got to get moving. NOW."

The pilot motions to transceiver but Sawyer grabs it, hands it to him and helps the pilot to his feet.

"Let me help you up. Steady now."

"It's not working."

Sawyer knows why it's not working but stays quiet.

"Thirteen hours? Has anybody come?"

"I'm afraid not."

The pilot explains exactly what Sawyer remembered being told – the plane's radio went out six hours in and they were over a 1,000 miles off course. This plane was doomed long before it got in range of the Hatch's energy.

Sawyer carries Norris on his back after it was apparent he would have difficulty making the trip on his own to the beach. It wasn't long before he crosses paths with a surprised Jack, Kate and Charlie.

"Where did you come from?" Jack said.

"Same plane you came from, doctor," Sawyer said. "I saw you and others were busy, so I thought I'd come over here and help. The pilot is alive but has passed out. There were no other survivors. Here (hands the transceiver to Kate). I think we're going to need this, but it does not seem to work."

"He shouldn't be moved."

"I get that Doc, but have you heard whatever that is out there? It doesn't seem friendly and it was in our general direction. We need to get him out of here."

"I think we should get back to the beach" Kate said. Jack nods his head and the five head back to the beach, with Sawyer and Jack taking turns carrying the pilot.

On the way back, Sawyer noted that not only did they not remember him, but they did not know each other before the flight as well.

***

When they returned to the beach, Kate ran with the receiver looking for someone who could make it work. It wasn't too long before she made her way to Sayid.

Sayid. Son of a bitch. If it wasn't for him, our cover would not have been blown in Dharmaville and Juliet and I would still be together, happy.

Sawyer shakes off the bad feelings, knowing he should try to get off to a better start with him this time.

Their last first encounter led to a fight with the two being separated and mutual suspicion.

_Sayid: I'm sick of this redneck! _

_Sawyer: You want some more of me, boy? _

_Sayid: Tell everyone what you told me! Tell them that I crashed the plane! Go on! Tell them I made the plane crash! _

_Sawyer: The shoe fits, buddy! _

Sawyer looked around the beach. Jack was going to have his hands full tending to the Marshall and now the pilot. Kate, Sayid, Charlie, Shannon and Boone were about to trek out to high ground to test the transceiver and discover the transmission. Everyone else is still waiting for a rescue that will never come.

He has no plans to shoot a polar bear this time; he has more important things to do. He wanders over to Sayid after Kate has finished her conversation with him.

"Sayid?" Sawyer said "Your name is Sayid?"

"Yes?" Sayid looks at Sawyer, confused. Had he told anyone his name yet?

"I understand you and some others are going out to the high ground to test the transceiver."

"Yes, that's right. How did you know that?"

Sawyer shrugged. "It makes sense to me? Look, you may need this."

Sawyer hands Sayid the gun. Sayid is stunned.

"Where did you get that?"

"I got if off one of the wounded. The U.S. Marshal the doc is working on."

Sayid does not say a word but still had a big question mark written all over his face.

"Look," Sawyer said, sitting down next to the Iraqi. "When I woke up, I heard or at least I thought I heard some wild animals out in the distance. (Shakes his head) No, not the same strange noise as what we heard a couple of hours ago (referring to Smokey). This sounded … natural, maybe like a bear or a tiger or something. You may need this, you may not."

Sayid seems to accept this as answer. "Thank you. You are not coming with us?"

"Not this time. I just came back from the cockpit with the pilot on my back. I was going to see what I can do to help over there (points in the general direction of the fuselage) … Be careful."

Sawyer heads over to where Jack is working on the Marshall. Now that he gave up the gun he found, he is going to need more. When Jack walks over to check on the pilot, and it is clear no one is looking, he takes a key from Marshall Mars' wallet and then slips out into the jungle.

****

If he was ever going to get to Juliet, he was going to need guns and time to think of a plan. His fellow passengers are weeks away from even knowing about the others and they wouldn't even begin to understand what has happening if he told them. They would never believe him. They probably would think he was nuts. Might think he was one of them.

It was another long trek for Sawyer, who was making his way to the waterfall spring. It wasn't for another three weeks until he followed Kate who was picking fruit out at this far removed part of the jungle and discovered this spring.

At the bottom of the water were two dead 815 passengers and a Halliburton case. The case contained 4 guns among its items. One of those guns would be used by Charlie to kill Ethan - the same Ethan Sawyer pushed Juliet to bring into this world 27 years ago.

As Sawyer reached the waterfall, he took in the beauty of the location for a moment before taking off his shirt and shoes. He dives in and sees the bodies and the case right where he remembered. He pulls the case and heads back up.

As he reached the top, Sawyer takes a deep breath and hears the sound of a gun cock. The gun is aimed right at his head.

He raises his hands and looks up slowly, stunned at the intense face staring back at him - a face he was so familiar with he could describe every detail with his eyes shut. He suddenly needs to take another breath.

"Juliet?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** KNJ, thank you so much for going over this chapter with me. Thank you everyone for the kind reviews and especially the questions that come with them! Keep them coming please!

**Chapter 3**

**Sept. 21, 2004 - Two Days ago**

_Juliet: "You told me you could fix it. You said that, you said that you cured my sister, you lied to me". _

_Ben: "No I did not lie to you!" _

"_You never cured her!" _

"_I did!" _

"_You Lied To Me!!!" _

"_I told you the truth! I gave you my word". _

_Juliet is sobbing. "I know. I want to go home. I want to go home, Ben, please. Can't you please just let me go home?" _

"_No.". _

_Ben leaves, and Juliet buries her head on the Ben's kitchen counter in floods of tears. She goes back to her house, to deal with a massive headache that is starting. _

***

Sawyer raises his hands and looks up slowly, stunned to see Juliet pointing a gun on him.

"Juliet?"

"J-James?"

Juliet lowers the gun. Their faces gave away all that needed to be said.

Both she and James start to let their tears drop and fall into each other's arms. For the next several minutes, not a word was spoken.

In shock with the realization that they both remembered their 3 years together, they held each other and held each other, pressing their faces into each others' necks. He kissed her deeply and cried as his voice broke, "I love you. I thought I lost you forever."

Juliet put her arms around him again, brushing his hair and whispered. "I love you too, James. I am here." She kissed him back gently. "I love you so much."

If their tears hadn't already drenched them, the rain started to pour. They ran over to the tree line for cover, holding on to each other the whole way.

"What are you doing here - on this end of the island?" Sawyer asked.

"I had to know if you were here. This was the first chance I could sneak away from the barracks since I saw the plane split into two. I was heading to the beach. I remembered you told me you found the case here and if you remembered like I did, this might be one of first places you'd come to."

Juliet begins to explain her memories started to return two days ago, after her argument with Ben over Rachel. He tells her she won't be reading his file about him killing anyone in Sydney this time and the realization sets in that he got his memories back several days ago, before the crash.

"James - Are you telling me you remember the crash beforehand and still got on the plane? Why on earth would you do that? Why didn't you take another flight?"

"I'm looking at the reason, sweetheart. How else was I supposed to get back here? I came back for two reasons only – the first one is to get you back to your sister and nephew."

The tears started to return to her eyes. "And what is the second reason?"

"To grow old with you. … If you let me."

"Of course I will" Juliet's tears fall freely down her cheeks … "I'm so sorry I doubted you."

"I'm sorry I gave you reason for doubt." James started to sob, finally letting all the hurt from a lifetime of pain fall down his face. "I just wish I would have told you sooner … that I would have said everything I was feeling.

Juliet sees for the first time what her death did to him. "James …"

"No let me finish... You are everything to me. You became my family, my best friend. Without you, life is just. ..."

She rubbed his face with her hands. "It's ok. I can't believe you would get on a plane you thought would crash. You are out of your mind and I love you for it."

They sat down and looked at each other, getting used to each other again. It had only been a few days in one respect, but it had been a lifetime in another. They continued to catch up. "How is everyone else at the beach? Jack, Kate, Jin and Sun? Did they get on the plane too?"

Sawyer smirked. "You know, since the crash I thought I was losing my mind. I could see things happen before they did, but no one else could. That's right – the best I can tell, I am the only one on the plane who remembers. I have talked to Jack and Kate and Sayid and none of them remembers me, the island, or anyone else on the plane. To them, it's the first time."

"So it's just you and me?"

That's right, Blondie. Just us. And if that ain't a sign from the island gods we are meant to be together, I don't know what is. Now let's get out of here. We can be off of this craphole island before the end of the night."

Juliet is stunned "How?"

"Desmond's sailboat (The Elizabeth), remember? He is still stuck in the hatch and no one, not even the others know about it. We could follow the correct compass bearing of 325 and be out to sea in a couple of hours. Once I get you home safe we can send people back."

Juliet pauses for several seconds. "James we have to think about this. I'm sorry but we can't do it right now."

"Juliet, we may only have a small window of time to do this. I've already changed the timeline in one big way – I saved the pilot's life. That alone could lead to a series of events we can't predict and they may find the boat when they didn't before."

Juliet shakes her head. "James, there is no telling what Ben will do if I suddenly disappear. And if he finds out you are not among the beach survivors, he will eventually figure out that we remembered our past on the island and somehow left together.

He will come looking for us off of the island and will probably kill everyone here. We can't leave until Ben is ousted from power or dead."

"Son of a bitch."

***

Sept. 22, 2004 - Yesterday

_Ben and Juliet approach the Flame Station. Juliet has got all of her memories back. _

"_Mikhail?" Ben on his walkie. "We're here. He never has his walkie on."_

_Juliet stays silent. She knows this time why Ben is bringing her here – to show her the proof that her sister and nephew are alive and well. Even knowing what she is going to see, she knows she is still going to break down watching it. _

"_Mikhail! It's Ben. I'm here with Juliet, we're approaching the house. Don't shoot us..." _

"_Well hurry up then," Mikhail said. "Did you see it?"_

"_A plane fell out of the sky, Mikhail. Of course we saw it. What do you have so far?" _

_Several news reports of the crash fill the monitors. _

"_Oceanic Flight 815. Left Sydney, Australia headed for Los Angeles, 324 people onboard including the flight crew." _

"_I want detailed files on every single passenger." _

"_Already working on it." _

"_Can we uplink to Richard in Acadia Park please? Yesterday you called me a liar Juliet. I was hurt by that."_

_Juliet prepares herself but knows she is going to cry anyway. _

"_Hello, Richard can you hear me?" said Ben. "Notice today's date (noting the newspaper on the screen), this is live. OK, Richard."_

_The camera pans out and shows Rachel playing with Julian. Juliet walks to the monitors this time. She starts to cry as she did before, but she does not run. She has played these images in her head 1000s of times._

"_A little over two years ago, to everyone's complete surprise, Rachel's cancer went into complete remission. Shortly after she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. His name is Julian. OK, thank you Richard. You'll wanna get back here as soon as you can, we may have some new visitors." Ben turns off the monitor. "I'm not a liar, Juliet." _

"_Perhaps not this time Ben," Juliet said. "I wanna go home."_

"_That's not our agreement; you need to stay here until your work is finished." _

"_It's impossible. The mothers keep dying." _

"_Then we'll find more mothers. Who knows, maybe there's even one on that plane."_

_The plane, Juliet thought. If everything played out like it did before, James will be there. I have to go find him. _

****

Juliet looked at Sawyer with fear in her eyes. She knows now that Ben has already set Goodwin's death in motion and there isn't much she can do to stop it. She could not handle it James were killed.

"Just sneak me into New Otherton and I will blow him away," Sawyer said as he paced between the trees. "He's not a kid anymore Juliet. He's a grown man now … and a total psychopath. We should have killed that bug-eyed bastard a long time ago."

Sawyer shakes his head, realizing "a long time ago" does not apply here.

"James," Juliet half-whispered, using her ability that no one else has to calm him, "If you walk into the barracks and kill him, the rest of the others will gun you down on the spot. Come here and sit down. We can do this but we are going to have to be very careful about it. We are going to have to do a lot of planning."

They began to makes plans, going over every detail of what happened on the island other the 100 days that followed Sept. 22, 2004. From there, they would focus on manipulating the events that would hopefully prevent deaths and help them get off the island.

They would focus on the Tail Section, the Hatch, Ethan and building of the raft (something they would try to prevent). As far as they could predict events as they happened, they would try and save lives.

As far as the 815ers are concerned, it is way too soon to tell them anything and they would never accept the whole truth. They would eventually work on Locke – if there is someone they would tell their secret to first, it would be him. On the others' side of the coin, they would eventually talk to Richard. They both know he has a soft spot for Locke and will get to the point that he will grow tired of Ben.

"James, we're going to have to plan our meetings very carefully. We should never meet in the same location twice and we will probably have to work out a signal." The Pearl, Henry Gale's Balloon, The Staff (Medical Hatch) would all be locations of future secret meetings.

Sawyer nodded. "We can only depend on each other. I only wish I could watch your back every second." He pulls her close and holds her one more time, not knowing when they will see each other again.

"I miss you too James."

***

Sawyer returned to the beach before the day ended and hid the case with the guns just outside of the camp. When he got back, Sayid and Kate had not returned with news of the French transmission, so he assumed Sayid shot the polar bear and they moved on.

No one had missed him; at this point no one had even asked him his name yet. The pilot was resting in one tent, while Jack was still trying to save the Marshall in the other. When he walked by the tent, Mars was showing Jack Kate's mugshot, telling him she's dangerous.

Well what do you know? Sawyer thought. The good doctor knew about Kate's past from the very beginning. Well, good for him.

Sawyer thought about what he originally did over the next couple of days – looting the airplane and beginning to build up his "stash", plus shooting the Marshall to put him out of his misery – and missing. This time he would have no part of any of that. He would put himself to use and keep an eye on everyone, especially the pilot he just saved.

When Juliet returned to New Otherton, she had a cover story ready that she had visited The Staff to make sure everything was ready, but no one asked where she was – they all thought she was in her lab. The others had just brought back 3 tallies they kidnapped, but lost two of their own to Mr. Ecko.

In 11 more days, the others would take 9 more from the camp; including two children that Juliet would help take care of. She turned her attention on how she could help the tail section survivors without blowing her cover.

**Author's Note:** Now the stage is set – It's Sawyer & Juliet vs. Ben and in a many ways, everyone on the island. This story is probably going to get more complicated to piece together as we move on because I am constantly comparing it the timeline of the show. At a certain point, the two timelines maybe so different, that it won't matter. Then again, course correction may keep things in line. It's going to be interesting to see how this chess game plays out. I know how this story is going to end but I am not sure what roads we are going to take to get there, lol.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **While Juliet and Sawyer are thinking 12 moves ahead of everyone else, they still have to deal with the day to day reality as well. This chapter starts to rein things in. The 815ers are still hoping for rescue and are just beginning to think about survival on the island.

Thanks for all of the kind reviews. I love hearing from all of you.

Special thanks to **gemini ebo** for the following question - Shouldn't Ben remember them being together in the 70s?

Absolutely, Ben should remember Juliet, Sawyer, Jin and Miles but he would not remember Sayid, Jack, Kate and Hurley. The difference being 3 years vs. 2 days – the amount of time the O4 were on the island before Sayid shot Ben. Richard said he wouldn't remember any of this, and even Darlton indicated in a podcast it would be the shooting and the days surrounding it that he would not remember.

So, I believe Ben's obsession of Juliet comes from his childhood memories of her. Also, after the crash of 815, when Ben received intel of the survivors, he figured out that James "Sawyer" Ford and Jim LaFleur were one in the same. That might explain, in part, why Ben was pushing Sawyer and Kate together in the cages at the start of season 3. He was playing mind games with Jack, but he also was trying to keep Juliet and James apart.

**Chapter 4**

**Day 3 - **

_Juliet remembers the events that led to Ben taking her to Goodwin's body._

_Ben: "__After our last raid on the tail section survivors, they ran off, left the beach. I sent Pickett and Tom to track their location, and they came across this. I'm sorry, Juliet." _

"_Sorry about what?" _

_Juliet sees a white-colored corpse, and stops near the dead body with a stake sticking out of his chest. He turns to look at the face. _

"_James!" _

Juliet's eyes snap open. It was a nightmare. She nervously gets out of her bed and makes her way to her kitchen to drink glass water. She drinks it, while her body is shaking.

She slams the glass down.

"Damn you Ben."

Juliet starts to second guess herself about not setting sail on _The Elizabeth_ with James right away. She could be with him now and with her sister in a matter of days.

***

"_James, I know you must hold a lot of anger and animosity against Jack and the others over what happened with the H-Bomb," said Juliet a few hours ago. "And I understand. But you need to let it go."_

_She pulls him close. "I __believe__ in you. You are going to have to keep everything inside and wait patiently for things to happen. It's going to be tough at times, but I __know__ you will do it."_

"_I will let it go until Ben has been dealt with. But you have got to make me a promise too Juliet – don't take any crazy risks with him. I can't lose you again, I can't handle that."_

Sawyer watches the ocean waves in the middle of the night. He has barely slept since the crash and has just awakened after his own nightmare.

"Dude," It was Hurley. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"It sounded like you were having a nightmare. You screamed the name Juliet. …"

"Yeah. She is …. my lady. My best friend."

"Was she …?"

"No. She wasn't on the plane. But I'm worried about her. … I don't think we've been introduced. My name is Jim Ford. Most people call me Sawyer."

"Sawyer, people call me Hurley."

Sawyer smiles. "But Hurley is not your real name is it?"

"No, it's Hugo. Hugo Reyes."

"We'll its nice to meet you Hugo. I appreciate your concern. (smiles) I can see you are going to be in charge of morale around here and we are in good hands.

I think I am going to get back to sleep. Try anyway. You should get some rest too."

Sawyer felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had many problems to fix on this end of the island, but he also worried about what was going on the northwest end the island with the tail section. And he mainly worried about Juliet getting in the middle of it. He knew she would do her best to keep the remaining survivors safe, but it would be extremely difficult with Ben, Goodwin and the rest of the others all in the way.

***

It wasn't long after the sun rose that Sawyer noticed the return of the signal party – Sayid, Kate, Charlie, Boone and Shannon. They are all together, safe. Either Sayid shot the polar bear, or the encounter never took place. Based on the looks on their faces, they discovered the French Transmission all right.

Sayid starts to address the survivors that gathered nearby, organizing groups to collect electronics to boost a signal, and another to collect food and water. Sawyer remembers they don't know about the caves yet and he should tell them about it in order to solve the water problem. He could say he passed them when looking for the cockpit the day of the crash.

Sawyer, sitting down on one of the airline seats, notes the presence of Joanna Miller, walking towards the crowd. She may be an experienced diver and swimmer, but in 3 more days she is going to drown, almost taking Boone down with her. I'll have to keep an eye on her, Sawyer reminds himself.

Sawyer and Juliet planned on walking a tightrope. They wanted to keep everyone safe, but they also wanted to remain several steps ahead where they could no matter where the timeline is going.

Sawyer's manner with his fellow castaways alone could have a major effect on the timeline. Not hoarding a "stash" means Jack and Sayid will not suspect him of keeping Shannon's medicine a few days from now. Therefore Sayid won't torture him. Therefore Sayid doesn't leave the camp feeling guilty and doesn't get caught by Danielle. Therefore Danielle doesn't seek out Sayid later on when she captures Ben.

And what about Capt. Norris? Would he be calling the shots once he recovers from his injuries? Or will it be Jack? Thinking about all of the angles was giving him a headache.

"Hey There. Whatcha doin?"

"Hello … Freckles,'' Sawyer, half regretting saying it as soon as the nickname slipped from his mouth. He is not supposed to know her name is Kate yet. "I'm trying to weave a fishing net, if you can believe that. I don't think that airline food is going to last much … "

Kate was only half-way paying attention. "Sayid said you gave him the gun. Is that true?"

"Yes. I'm not an Air Marshall if that's what you are thinking. I found it off of the wounded Marshall and I gave it to him. Thought he might need it. Did he?"

"Yes, he did interestingly enough. He shot a bear with it that was charging us. Did you find anything else?"

"No." Sawyer smiled. "However I overheard the Marshall talking to the Doc last night and …"

Kate runs off to Jack's Infirmary tent.

Sawyer puts down his netting shuttle and pulls out his reading glasses he made sure he had prescribed before the flight. He looks back at his "How To Weave A Fishing Net" instructions. About 30 years ago, he was taught by a Korean expert how to catch fish using a net. Those lessons are about to come very handy.

He put the instructions back in his pocket and notices something else there. It was the Mr. Sawyer letter. He stares at it one last time, tears it up and gets back to his weaving.

***

A few minutes later, Jack and Hurley were headed in his direction, talking about getting antibiotics for Marshall Mars.

"We went through everything, man," Hurley said.

"What about that luggage in the overhead compartments?" Jack asked.

"That's inside the plane. There are bodies are in there, and they're all … dead."

"Look, I'll … Sawyer is it?" Jack begins. (Hurley nods) "Would you mind helping me go through the luggage in plane, looking for antibiotics?"

Sawyer laughs, thinking about his stash in his past life. Jack and Hurley look at him puzzled. "Sorry, private joke you reminded me of. Sure, I'd be happy to help and I could use a break from this weaving."

Jack and Sawyer walk towards the plane while Hurley heads back to the Infirmary to keep an eye on Mars. Jack hands Sawyer a flashlight as they walk inside the fuselage and begin to go through the luggage and look at prescription bottles.

"How's our pilot doing?"

"He's got a nasty concussion and some broken ribs. I want him to stay off his feet for some time. … So, what is it you were working on?"

"A fishing net."

"You really think we are going to need it?"

"Yes I do, Doc. The pilot told me we were over a 1,000 miles off course. The airline food won't last much longer. Now I ain't going to rain dark clouds on everyone out there, but I don't see rescue coming anytime soon, if at all. It's best we all get prepared. We're also going to have to do something about the bodies in here. It may attract the wrong sort."

Jack nods his head, but is more interested at the moment in collecting antibiotics. Marshall Mars would suffer for 48 more hours before dying. Sawyer doesn't mention euthanizing him this time; he doesn't want to go there.

***

**Day 4 - **

The next day, Sawyer paid a visit to Capt. Norris in his tent. In addition to the injuries Jack mentioned, his right ear is cut up pretty bad and his right eye was bruised and still swollen shut. It would definitely be awhile before he would be out walking about.

"So, I don't remember anything that happened when I work up after the crash," Norris started. "But the doctor tells me you were the one who pulled me out of the cockpit. Says I probably owe you my life. And that there was something strange out there that was knocking down trees."

"I didn't really get a good look at it, Captain," Sawyer said. "There was another party that went out to test the transceiver. Said they were charged by a Polar Bear."

"I heard about that. What kind of place is this?" Norris grimaced as he moved and felt the pain in his ribs.

"You need to relax Captain," Sawyer said. "I can tell you that food and water won't be an issue for us and we won't have to travel far inland to get to it. Plus there is an experienced fisherman in camp. I'm a novice but I can help out with that."

"Call me Seth. Your name is Sawyer? It sounds like you've resigned yourself that we aren't going to get rescued."

"You can call me Jim or Sawyer, Seth. … It doesn't matter what I believe. Rescue could come tomorrow, next month, or never. We just need to prepare as if it will never comes."

Sawyer leaves the pilot's tent, believing he has this problem under control. But he sighs when he notices another one. Jack is nearby going through suitcases, looking for more medicine. A familiar face hands him a suitcase full of medicine.

"Jackpot, right? Guy must've been a hypochondriac or something."

"Where'd you find this?" Jack asked.

"In the jungle. I'm Ethan, by the way."

Ethan and Jack shake hands. They both look over towards Claire and Ethan offers to help Jack deliver the baby when the time comes.

"Well, it's nice to know I'm not alone," Jack said.

Ethan laughs. "You're _definitely_ not alone."

For several different reasons, the upcoming Ethan problem is not something Sawyer and Juliet will want to just run its course. They will have to interfere.

That night, Vincent wakes up the camp and they discover boars rummaging among the corpses inside the fuselage. Jack glances at Sawyer with recognition. He concludes they need to burn the bodies in the fuselage.

**Author's Note: **Sorry if this chapter seems like a short "filler" setup, but in a lot of ways that's exactly what it is. Like the show, this story will have its peaks and valleys of excitement.

**To Pegasus:** Thanks for the catch on the Pilot's name. I have corrected that in Chapters 2 and 4. I can't believe I missed that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **I know, I know – It's been 3 weeks since I last updated. Work got in the way but the main issue was I had a hard time getting my arms around this next section. I've been agonizing over certain subplots. And this one was becoming long enough and covering so many events that I am breaking it up. Since I can hear a few people with pitchforks gathering outside, I'm posting the first of this block of chapters now.

Chapter 6, which still needs a lot of work, will be released no later than Friday. Oh and Pegasus, I don't know how long it's going to take to finish this story, but I promise you I will finish it (unless of course I get pelted by too many tomatoes along the way. j/k)

Please, please review. Review if you like it or don't like it. Review if you want to spank me for taking too long between updates.

**Update: **After receiving some very nice feedback, I may need to delay Chap 6 until this weekend (just to give me a little extra time on it).

**Chapter 5**

**Day 11**

Juliet waited underneath the suspended beech craft outside the Pearl Station for Sawyer to arrive. It was late at night and it had been 9 long days since they last saw each other.

She wasn't sure he would make it or if he even saw the mark she left on a designated tree a couple of miles away. If one of them missed it, they were to check another location a couple of days later. Each mark meant a different location and a different time.

She picked the Pearl because it was at a central part of the island and the Losties aren't expected to discover this location for some time. The Others, mainly Tom, wouldn't use it until there were Losties inside the Swan "Hatch" station to keep an eye on and that was also several weeks away.

Finally, she could see a figure coming out of the tree line. It was Sawyer, and he looked exhausted.

"James!" Juliet half-whispered, as she quickly walked up to Sawyer and wrapped her arms around him.

"Juliet." They held each other tight and kissed each other deeply.

"C'mon. Let's get inside. I made you a cheeseburger and fries and am keeping it warm for you. I also brought some beer. You must be dying for some … James, what's wrong?"

Sawyer sighs and opens his mouth but struggles to get the words out. A tear is forming in the corner of his eye.

"He's dead Juliet," Sawyer cried out, almost collapsing into her arms. "And it's my fault."

***

A few minutes later Juliet had taken Sawyer into the station. Most of it was powered off except one room off to the side that had a sofa and a small kitchen area.

"James, this was _not _your fault. I want you sit down and eat and then we can talk about it."

Sawyer sits but looks drained. He couldn't let his emotions out until he got away from camp and be with the only person who could possibly understand.

Juliet hands him his food and puts her arm around him. "Now, eat. I know this has to be a gourmet meal compared to what you have been eating lately."

Sawyer starts to munch down his burger while he thinks back what went wrong over the past week.

**6 Days Earlier – Day 5**

It was windy morning and the waves were crashing hard. Sawyer walked down the beach, parallel to the camp. As he had done every morning since the crash, he looked on and evaluated what everyone was going to do that day.

Even though he had made a number of changes to the timeline, Sawyer felt he was still able to predict everyone's movements at this point because rescue and survival in this new environment were on everyone's mind.

Today, Locke would start to hunt Boar as he originally did and Jin and Sawyer were going to become the camp fishermen. Of course, Jin was not a really a team player at this point, not trusting anyone and keeping only to Sun; their marriage in the same rocky spot.

So it was basically up to Sawyer to fish remembering the lessons Jin gave him in Dharma times. The net he was weaving would need another day's work before he could put it to use.

Jack was planning on checking out the caves (a couple of days early), based on Sawyer's "discovery." Sayid was working on trying to make antennas to triangulate the French distress signal they heard previously.

And then there was the fallout of the boars feeding out the bodies the night before. Jack once again wanted to burn the bodies, but this time he felt he should consult with Seth, since he figured he would be the camp leader as soon as he completely recovered from his injuries.

And that was fine with Jack. He never wanted the job.

Seth ventured outside of his tent for the first time in 4 days. Jack approached his tent.

"You know you shouldn't be out," Jack said. "Those ribs won't heal for at least 3 more weeks. And I need to examine you again because of that concussion."

"I'll lie back down in a bit Jack;" Seth snapped. "I am going stir-crazy in there. But I do feel a little better. I assume you are also here to talk about what we should do with the bodies I've heard everyone talk about since last night."

"There are more than 20 of them," said Sayid, joining them out side the tent. "Its going to be difficult to dig without shovels."

"We need to burn them," Jack said, which raised both Seth and Sayid's eyebrows.

"Whoa. Whoa. You want to burn them?" Seth said. "I don't know."

"If we don't burn them, then they will be eaten by the boars." Jack said.

"And any bodies we bury we probably won't be able to bury very deep and they won't stay buried for very long," Seth seemed resigned to the situation until...

"Wait a sec. What about the caves Sawyer told me about that aren't that far from here? Maybe we can bury the bodies there."

Sayid nods his head. "It would take a lot of work but if everyone pitches in, we could get it done before nightfall. I'd feel a lot better about it than burning the bodies. The religious implications …"

"Ok. Sawyer says there is a water spring there, an unlimited source, "Jack said, a little skeptical. "I hope he's right because we are going to need that water today. Michael and what's his name, ah, Locke have already gone out hunting, so we better start organizing everyone else in camp.

Sayid points out to Jack that Kate is with Locke, testing one of the antennas he built to find the source of the French transmission.

Jack walks off to organize the burial detail. "Seth, we'll take care of this. But you need to get back in that tent. Three more weeks."

Sayid starts to follow him.

"Sayid, wait" said Seth, pondering. "The plane when it split … Do you think there is any chance anyone from the tail section survived?"

***

"It took us most of the day to take the bodies out to the caves, but we got 'er done," said Sawyer as Juliet brushed her hand along his hair. "Jack had to stay with the the Marshall until he died later that night. We buried him out there too. (Pauses) Hell, even Ethan helped out. If I didn't know better I still would think he was on the damn plane."

"So no one suspects?" Juliet asked. "It's important no one does at least until he gives the Claire a few injections. And that's coming up soon."

Sawyer puts his hand on hers. "I know sweetheart, and before we leave tonight, let's go over everything again. In spite the fact you delivered him, he gives me the creeps. But I know he's going to be doing your work which will keep her and Aaron alive. And I don't want to him to end up being shot like last time. "

"I know James," Juliet smiled, before she changed the subject. "I take it everything went ok with the woman who was going to drown?"

**5 Days Earlier – Day 6**

"Son of a Bitch!"

Sawyer's eyes popped open the next morning. After the long day at the caves, he overslept and this was the morning Joanna Miller was going to drown and nearly cause Boone to as well if Jack had not saved him.

Sawyer ran to the water but there was no one out there.

"Has anyone seen Joanna!?"

"I'm right here! " Joanna responded nervously. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Sawyer, embarrassed. "I thought I heard someone say it was not a good day to go out swimming and … "

Joanna looked at him very puzzled. "I was thinking about it, but after all the work we did last night I was too pooped and decided not to. How did you know that I … "

"Well, you look like a swimmer and … I just made a lucky guess," Sawyer, obviously hoping this conversation ends real quickly. He looked around, watching Boone and Shannon looking over at them confused. "Look I'm sorry I bothered you." as he walked away.

Damnit, Sawyer thought to himself. Things were starting to spin out of control. His thoughts turned to the rest of the camp – today was the day that Jack was going to find the caves on his own, but that's not going to happen now.

_What else happened today? There was a water shortage before, but that's under control now … Something related to Jack. … Before he found the caves. … Son of a Bitch. _

Later on, Sawyer came across Locke just outside the beach. In both timelines they had barely spoken up to this point.

"Locke, have you seen Jack? He hasn't been around camp."

"Yes, a couple of hours ago, Why?" Locke asked. "He was acting a little strange. Like he was looking for something, but he didn't know what."

Locke pointed in the general direction Jack was headed. Sawyer tapped him on the shoulder and ran off. Locke shouted, "Anything wrong?"

Sawyer starts to remember a story Locke told him once about Jack almost dying a few days after the crash. Literally falling off a cliff.

Sawyer, knowing the layout of the island like the back of his hand, ran towards the nearest cliff.

In this reality, the 815ers looked to Jack as one of their leaders but not as _The Leader_. And without a water crisis heating up the camp, Locke did not have the urgency about looking for him this time around (and saving his life).

Jack, once again chasing the image of his father, falls down a hill and the off the same cliff, exactly as he did before. He tries to hold on and climb back up but he can't. He starts to slip, but Sawyer gets there just in time.

"Doc, take my hand." Sawyer pulls him up. "Come On."

Sawyer pulls him up and they both stay on the ground, catching their breaths.

Jack laughs, slightly crazy.

"What?" Sawyer asked.

"You seem to have a knack of being at the right place at the right time," Jack responded. "What are you doing out here?"

Sawyer's eyes suddenly turn sad and distant. Pulling up Jack from the cliff brings back the worst memory of his life - Juliet letting go of his hand.

"You ok?" Jack asked.

"I'm heading back to camp," Sawyer practically growled. "Are you coming?"

***

**Author's Note:** If too many of you guess right who is going to die, I may just have to kill someone else! I don't have to worry about actor contracts.


	6. Chapter 6

**­­Author's Note: **It took me a little longer than I thought, but here it is. Thank you all for your support and your very kind reviews.

Questions I received more than once – Will anyone else get their memories back and will it be explained why only Sawyer and Juliet remember? Maybe and Yes. lol … I think its safe to assume that Jacob has stepped in, but why? Don't count for any answers to that for quite a while. I have the ending figured out but I have no idea how many chapters it is going to take to get there.

**Chapter 6**

Before Juliet met Sawyer at the Pearl Station, she sneaked away from New Otherton earlier that day to find Goodwin. He didn't listen to her the last time she warned him about Ben, but now knowing he faced a certain death, she had to try again.

Goodwin had infiltrated the tail section on the day of the crash and to this point and only had brief communications with Ben and Tom, mainly leaving behind notes for them to retrieve in the jungle. These notes included the list of names, indentifying the ones he thought they should take.

It was hard for him to get away with Ana Lucia running a tight ship. If anyone had to go to the bathroom, she wanted that person to go with someone else nearby. When her mind was focused on starting a fire to cook the chicken they had caught, he snuck off in the jungle to leave behind another note and come back before she noticed he had left.

"Juliet, what are you doing here," Goodwin whispered, before she put her hand to his mouth and motioning him to look at her notepad.

Juliet wrote_: "Ben does not know I am here. I need to tell you two things: _

_This is a suicide mission he has sent you on. They are going to figure out sooner or later that you are not one of them and then they are going to kill you. You need to abort"._

Goodwin picked up the notepad and wrote back: _"That's nonsense Jules. What else did you need to tell me?"_

Juliet pauses and gives Goodwin a cold stare.

"_I'm ending __us__. Until Ben is satisfied that we aren't seeing each other, your life is in danger. Assuming you come back from this mission alive, which you won't if you don't listen to me. I was never thrilled with you being married but this clinches it. We're __done__."_

"Jules, please don't" Goodwin started, but Juliet pointed in the direction of the camp. She moves away barefoot, making sure she didn't leave any tracks. A stunned Goodwin turns to head back to the camp.

***

"So I take it the Boy Scout didn't take it very well," Sawyer started.

"No, I guess he didn't," said Juliet, feeling awkward discussing Goodwin with him. "Do you remember what day exactly he was killed? I can only estimate when I saw his body."

"Rambina and Shaft never mentioned it Juliet. In fact, they never talked about him like he was an Other. I remember she said he was killed by them."

"Well, in a way that's true James. I think I am going to have to do something else. They are going to take nine more tomorrow and Ana Lucia is going to kill Karen. And Karen has the list on her."

Sawyer, nodded uncomfortably, discussing Others' business that he was not going to take any action on. The nine tallies would be kidnapped, but they would be safe, and that was all that mattered at this point.

***

After pulling Jack up to the cliff, Sawyer spent the next 3 days trying to put out fires before they happened.

When he wasn't fishing, he was worked on trying to collapse the unstable cave, the one that Charlie nearly killed himself and Jack by shouting inside of it. When he realized he couldn't collapse it without killing himself or taking down the other caves around it, he decided a stern warning would have to do - the cave seemed "unstable" and would likely collapse by noise and another spot should be found to house supplies.

At the moment, no one had a reason to argue with him when Jack moved in with Locke, Charlie, Hurley, Jin and Sun and about 15 other survivors in tow.

Finally, Sawyer went to The Swan and chopped down a couple of trees and covered them over the hatch. If Locke and Boone or anyone else were to come by hunting boar, they would likely walk around this spot. Juliet and Sawyer agreed they should delay the discovery of the Swan as long as possible.

"There are a lot of food, beer and supplies down there," Sawyer muttered to himself. "But none of it is worth getting to if opening up this damn station keeps me from getting you home Blondie."

***

**2 Days Ago – Day 9**

"This is going to hurt," said Jack, as he looked over Sayid's head at the caves. "Ready to tell me what happened?"

"We were trying to find the source of the distress call. I saw the flare from the beach and then the flare from Kate's position in the jungle. I switched on my antenna, activated the transceiver, and then -- darkness. Whoever hit me came from behind and destroyed the equipment."

"Listen, we're going to figure this out, but don't do anything until …"

"I will do whatever I need to do to find the man responsible."

"Wait. Let' go talk to Seth and see … "

"Seth is gone."

"What?"

"I went to his tent before coming over here. Shannon told me he and Boone and Steve went out to search for other survivors. … from the tail section."

"Damnit! … Wait a minute … Steve is here."

"I thinks he means Scott, dude." Hurley said.

***

Sawyer knew that Locke who once again was the one who hit Sayid from behind. In the original timeline, Locke cast suspicion on Sawyer, who had built up a stash and a "certain animosity" with Sayid. Sawyer was not an easy target this time.

"Well, Johnny Boy, it's time you and I had a talk," Sawyer said. "Who did you try to put the blame on this time?"

"Blame for what, Sawyer?" Locke said.

"Well, I just saw that you were just visited by an angry Iraqi. Probably over the fact that he was knocked out from behind late yesterday, only to wake up and find all of his toys destroyed. Considering you are still in one piece, he does not know yet that you were the one who did it."

Locke looks on at Sawyer speechless. _How did he know that I did it? No one was around._

"I know Mr. Clean. Why would you, or anyone, want to prevent our being rescued? Well, let's see. If I were knocked out of a building 8 stories up by my con-man father and paralyzed from the waist down, only to find out several years later that I could suddenly walk on an island just after the plane I was on crashed, I just might want to stay here too.

Locke is stunned. "How did you …"

"Don't worry, Daniel Boone, I ain't going to rat you out. You think this island is a place where miracles happen. Maybe it is. You're living proof. You're not the only one. I get you - Your intentions are good. You think you are doing what is in everyone's best interest, but the fact is sometimes your judgment ain't as sharp."

"Why do you say that?"

"If you had left Sayid alone, he would have found the source of the transmission. But after that he would have ran into a dead end. No message is going to get off this island. All you did yesterday is create a potential enemy and build mistrust among the camp."

"How do you know that the message would be blocked?"

"I know a lot of things, _John_. And in good time, I may share some of them with you."

***

Jack and Sayid arrived at the beach and Shannon pointed out the direction that Boone, Seth and Scott set out along the beach.

"He is in no condition to be walking to the other side of the island," Jack said. "And besides, there is no way anyone from the tail section could have survived."

"There is no way that any of us should have survived either Jack, but here we are," Sayid said. "Under the circumstances, he's correct to want to look."

"Maybe. But until he's recovered from his injuries he should have asked for volunteers. … Do you still have that gun?"

"Yes," Sayid said. "But it only has one bullet left."

"Let me come with you." Kate said.

"No, Kate. It's getting late. Sayid and I will be enough."

"Do either of you know how to track?"

***

Sawyer headed back to the caves. He still feared that small cave out was there knowing that it could easily collapse again. When he arrived, he relaxed when he saw his warning was being heeded. No supplies were in the cave and no one was planning on using it.

"Hey Dude, I'd thought you'd be out with the cavalry," Hurley said.

"What's going on Hugo?"

"Seth, the pilot dude, and Scott and Boone, headed off to find more survivors. Jack and Sayid went off after them about an hour ago."

_Son of A Bitch. Well, that's one thing I didn't know John._

"Which way did they go?"

***

"How long do you think its going to take to get to the other side of the island?" Boone asked.

"I'd say at least a day, possible two," said Seth. "What's that metal sticking out of the sand?"

"Let me get it Seth." Boone said. "You're bending over …"

"My ribs are fine, they are not bothering me at all," said Seth, as he carefully digs the cable which went into the ocean and into the jungle. "What the … ?"

Seth looks at Boone and Scott. "Let's follow this cable. See where it leads us."

***

**Yesterday – Day 10**

The next morning the trio continued to follow the cable for miles running along the jungle floor.

With Scott just behind him, Boone steps on a wire.

Seth screams and dives toward Boone. "Don't Move!"

Boone doesn't hear him in time, and lifts his foot off, causing a trap to swing into motion. A crossbow in a tree fires an arrow.

"No! No!"

***

"If I had just checked up on what was going on at the beach that morning I could have talked them out of going."

"James …"

"If I only hadn't made so many changes to the timeline. I could have waited until later to confront Locke …"

"James, stop," Juliet whispered in that calming tone of hers. "You remind me why I love you so much. I'm so sorry this happened, but you have got to let this go.

You can't keep an eye on nearly 50 people all of the time. No one can. There are no guarantees, except this – if we don't change the future, we are all going to end up dead just like before. We have to take chances and because of _you_, we are going to get through this."

Sawyer nodded at Juliet. "You're the brains, sweetheart. Any chance I can change your mind about getting on Desmond's boat? It's still there."

Juliet shakes her head and laughs nervously. "I second guess myself about that every single day James. I want to so much. And I worry that Ben is going to find out about us and … and … but we can't do it. We have to stand up to him and out manuever him and I can tell you realize that too. (Sawyer reluctantly nods) Now we don't have much more time. Do you have anything else you want to talk about?"

"Nothing more tonight Barbie."

"Good! Now shut up," said Juliet as she leans into him for a long kiss and pushes him down on the couch.

***

**Author's Note: **Still think it's the Pilot who is dead? Could be right. We will see next time.


	7. Chapter 7

Before Sawyer left the Pearl Station in the middle of the night, Juliet handed him a walkie. They could never talk on it without risking being overheard, but they worked out a simple code system to pass on tone messages. They were both to check in twice a day at the same time; if the other did not answer the first time, it would be assumed they could not get alone to check in.

Things were starting to spin out of control and getting more difficult to predict. Seth was dead, killed by Rousseau's trap (Scott and Boone were spared). It was likely that Ethan would take Claire in a couple of days and this time she might not be able to escape. Charlie might be killed. Boone was pushing Jack and Sayid for another group to search for tail section survivors.

Before turning in at his tent in the beach, Sawyer checked to make sure the case of guns was still in the hiding spot. He was exhausted, and he was asleep within 2 minutes of lying down.

The next morning, when his eyes started to open, his first image was Sayid hovering over him with a metal rod."Good morning" was the Iraqi's words before Sawyer was knocked out.

* * *

Sayid and Boone dragged Sawyer to a tree and tie him. No one else is around. Just like in the original timeline, Sayid dumps water in his face to get him to come to. But this time he isn't interested in any missing inhalers.

"What the hell are you doing, Sayid?" _What did I do to deserve getting tortured by you this time?_

"After the pilot died, a lot of people were turning to look for you, as if you were our leader." Sayid sneered. "But you were no where to be found. You were gone for hours. And last night, it was the same story. You were missing.

"As it turns out, Kate is a tracker. It appears you did a pretty good job of covering your tracks, but not good enough. We were able to follow your movements and guess what we found this morning?"

Boone brings the Halliburton into view. Sayid pulls out the gun Sawyer handed him a few days before.

_Uh-oh._

"You remember a few days ago, you handed me a gun, "Sayid continued. "I found it odd that you seemed to think I would need it and even odder that you would hand a gun to a total stranger.

"I have one bullet left in this gun."

"Sawyer, why did you hide this case out in the jungle?" Boone asked.

"I think the answer to that question is obvious, " Sayid said. "I am willing to bet there are more guns or other weapons in that case. Where is the key?"

"Sayid, I know how this looks, but I ain't here to hurt nobody."

Sayid punches him in the jaw. "Liar! Where is the key!?"

Sawyer shakes off the blow. "I don't know where the damn key is."

Sayid does not blink and says "Boone, please bring over Sawyer's back pack. There is no key in here but I did find out something else interesting."

Sayid reaches in and pulls out the walkie.

"Who have you been talking to, Sawyer?"

"Like I said Sayid, this isn't how it looks."

Sayid stands and walks over to finish making his bamboo spikes.

"Let me guess Sayid. You are going to insert those underneath my fingernails. You won't learn anything but it sure as hell will clear up my sinuses."

Sayid's eyes widen, like how in the hell did he know that?

Boone got in Sawyer's face. "Did you have something to do with the pilot's death Sawyer?"

"No, Metro! I brought him out of the jungle our first day here! Why in hell would I kill him?!"

"Who else is on this island? How do you know them? Where are the rest of those traps like the one that killed our pilot?!"

Sayid starts to apply the spikes. Sawyer screams but does not talk.

After several minutes of this, Boone can't take it anymore. "Sayid, maybe we should stop."

"Boone if you can't watch this I understand. But leave me to do what I have to do."

"To do what Sayid!?" Sawyer yelled. "You ain't got any proof that I've done anything wrong!"

"I have my suspicions and that is enough! Boone, please go."

Sawyer would only state his innocence, but other than that he wasn't talking. He wasn't going to say anything that would put Juliet in danger. He didn't know what time it was, but he figured he had missed at least the first scheduled communication with her through the walkie.

Sayid continued to beat him with his fists the way he did to Ben in another reality in the hatch.

* * *

Several hours later, Boone returned after he found Jack and Kate. Sayid had finished taking a break before he poured another bucket of water in Sawyer's face to wake him again.

"Are we going for yet another round, Ali?"

He pulls out the gun intending to point it at Sawyer's face.

"Sayid!," Jack yelled. "Stop it! What are you doing?"

Sayid presented him with the evidence and Kate and Jack looked confused.

"Sayid, I thought you were going to talk to Sawyer, not start torturing him!" an appalled Kate said. "Jack, didn't you say Sawyer saved your life the other day?"

"Yes, he pulled me from falling off a cliff. Sayid, look ... I know this looks suspicious, but Sawyer has been an asset around camp since day one. This has not appeared to be the actions on anyone who means us any harm. We are not savages."

Sayid ignored that last comment. "Yes, he has almost been too much of an asset. Jack, I tell you he is hiding something. There are obviously other people on this island.

"He is not talking, but he is going to stay right where he is until he starts giving answers."

Sayid starts to walk toward Sawyer ready to resume the torture, but stops when he hears a gun cocking sound.

"Sayid! Put That Gun Down Now!"

Boone, Jack and Kate turn to the sound of the unfamiliar female voice. Sayid turns as well, gun still in hand, but collapses when a taser dart hits him in the neck.

Juliet puts away the taser and moves toward the standing trio aiming a gun and a glare that appears even more deadly.

"Kate, untie James. Right now. Right. Now."

Jack, kick that gun over to me."

"Who are you?" Jack and Boone ask together, both their hands raised.

Juliet shakes her head in disgust. _Jack, I am so disappointed in you._ "James is moving heaven and earth to keep you all safe and you allow this? … Jack, I am not going to make that request again. Kick that gun over to me. Now."

A nervous Boone kicks the gun over to her.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Jack said. "You weren't on the plane. Do you know us?"

_I thought I did._

Kate finished untying Sawyer, who is still in the process of coming around. Juliet backs her away and moves toward her man. "Now, I want you three on your knees, with your hands behind your head."

Juliet keeps an eye on them while she puts her free arm around Sawyer to hold him. "Oh, James. I'm so sorry. … It's over, baby. I got you."

A bruised and bloodied Sawyer wearily looks up at Juliet. "H-Hey, sunshine. I guess Boone and Sayid thought I still had the damn inhalers."

"What are you going to do with us?" Boone asked.

"As soon as James has recovered, he and I are going to leave you people … to yourselves."

* * *

Juliet allows Jack to look at Sawyer's wounds. When he was finished, Juliet backed him away with the others. Sayid was awake but he was not about to make a move with that gun pointed at him.

Once he had gathered himself a bit, Sawyer takes off one of his shoes and reveals the key to the gun case. He opens it and pulls out and loads one of the four guns. Sayid looks stunned and dejected.

"So, Diana Prince …" Sawyer slowly gets up and whispers to Juliet, "is your invisible jet nearby?"

"No, but let's go find your boat," Juliet whispered back with a smile. She now regretted that she did not leave on _The Elizabeth _with Sawyer on the first day after they reunited. At this point, she could not go back to the barracks. Ben was starting to get suspicious, the only good news being his suspicion was misplaced in that she was in rendezvous with Goodwin.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, James," whispered Juliet, caressing Sawyer's face with her free hand. "As soon as you are ready, let's go to the boat and leave. I don't want them to destroy our lives again when we have been given another chance."

"Julie, I love you" Sawyer whispered back. "Getting you home safe is my absolute priority and if you want to leave now, then we're gone. The hell with these yahoos.

"But that said, I think I should mention a couple of things. Not that I am one to want to defend the Doc, but I don't think he knew anything about this. Except for Boone, Sayid was on his own.

"Ethan is going to take Claire soon. It's only a matter of time before they figure out he isn't on the manifest and the result this time will probably be worse than it was last time.

"Then there is the hatch. I've hidden it so they can't discover it easily, but Desmond is down there alone. Sooner or later he will go nuts, and when that happens ... In 100 days or less, most or all of these people will be wiped out just like the last go 'round.

"I know you are very angry at them right now. But shouldn't we at least clue them in on what they are facing? That will improve their odds of surviving."

Juliet sighed. He was right. They can't just go, not like this. "Ok, James, but Ben is going to figure out sooner or later that I am on this part of the island. Maybe he'll even remember that we were together from his childhood. We can't stay here long. I won't risk losing you."

"Who is that woman?" Kate whispered to Jack while Juliet and Sawyer were obviously planning something out of ear's range. "She doesn't look like the French woman I imagined after hearing that radio message.

Jack nodded. "She can't be. She's too young to be here after 16 years and too well dressed for someone who has been marooned here that long. This is something else. … It doesn't add up. He was on the plane with us and she was not. But look at them together."

Sawyer moves towards them with his gun ready, with Juliet at his back. "Ok, listen up. I know you are all probably wondering who my lady friend is. We will explain what you want to know in due time.

"But for now all you need to know is this – As you have already guessed, she was not on the plane. She and I have known each other for a long time. We trust each other with our lives and we have been acting in your best interests since the plane crashed - which we had _nothing_ to do with by the way, Sayid.

"But Sayid is right with his suspicions when he thinks there are people on this island who do mean you harm. Hell, all of _us_ harm. We have no choice but to start trusting each other.

Sawyer kneels down next to Sayid. "You want to torture someone who deserves it, Abdul?"

He hands him a gun and another one to Jack. Sayid and Jack look at each other, stunned.

"Go find Ethan."

**Author's note: **Yes, I abandoned this story three years ago, after real life got into the way and deciding that I had written myself into a corner. But like the Oceanic 6, this story is going to come back to the island after 3 years.

I've recently come back to this site, reading the works of several outstanding Suliet stories since the show ended and you all inspired me to get back to this. If you want me to continue, please let me know.


	8. Chapter 8

Sayid looks at the gun just handed to him and then back at Sawyer's eyes. Suddenly Juliet is not sure they made the right decision.

Sayid looks again at the gun. "I don't know if you are very clever or a fool. I think you are trying to divert us from the fact that you two are hiding something."

"We don't have time for this," Sawyer said. "Ethan is going to kidnap Claire as soon as he figures out he is about to be discovered that he wasn't on the plane. If you don't believe me, check the manifest. It's among the stuff we recovered. But don't check it until after you've caught him or at least after you make sure Claire is secure."

"Why would he want to kidnap Claire?" Sayid snaps. "And why shouldn't we be just as concerned about your woman here?"

"What did I just say?!" Sawyer barked. "We ain't got time for a discussion right now. Look, this is all complicated. … Sonuvabitch. Fine, you don't want to move, then I'll go and look for him."

Juliet grabbed Sawyer's arm. "James, stop. You are in no condition for this right now. Come sit down, you need to rest." Sawyer looks like he about to argue, but stops as soon as he picks up on her "don't argue with me" glare.

Juliet turned back to the others. "Jack, will you please just go? We will talk about everything later."

"I'll stay with them." said Kate, not able to keep her eyes off the Halliburton case. "Jack, Sayid … I don't think they mean to harm us. She could have killed all of us when she got here if she wanted to."

Jack wasn't sure, but nodded. "C'mon Sayid. Sigh. … We will deal with them later. Boone, you coming?"

"Metro, hang back a sec please. Doc, Ethan is a tough hombre. You two should stick together. Get to Claire first and make sure she is with a lot of people. Boone – if you know where Locke is, ask him to come back here."

"Can I have a gun too?" Boone asked as Jack and Sayid walk off.

"Have you ever used one?" Sawyer asked. Boone shook his head. "Then, no. Not until you get some training. Just go find Locke. We need to talk to him. If you come across Ethan alone, give him a wide berth and don't let him know we are on to him."

"Why do you want Locke here?" Juliet asks Sawyer quietly.

"When we tell them what's going on, he's the only one likely to believe us."

* * *

A puzzled Benjamin Linus walks toward the infirmary at the barracks in New Otherton when he sees Tom running in his direction.

"Tom, have you seen Juliet? She is not in her lab or her house."

"No I haven't Ben. We've got a big problem."

Tonight is when the Others plan on kidnapping more tailies . "Is everyone ready for tonight. I don't want any slip-ups. I want all nine of them here tonight, alive."

"Yes, Ben, we're ready, but …"

Ben raises a hand to dismiss him. "Fine, fine. Whatever it is you need to talk to me about, it can wait. I just need to find Juliet. She might be at the infirmary."

"Ben!"

"What is it? Can't it wait?"

"I just came from the armory. Damn it Ben, all of our ammo is missing!"

Ben froze and pondered a moment. "Start an investigation. Check the security camera tapes. And question those 3 plane survivors we took the night the plane crashed. Maybe they are having second thoughts."

* * *

For the first time since returning to the island, Sawyer finds himself alone with Kate and Juliet. Boy does he feel awkward. He leans back against the tree he was earlier tied to while Juliet looks over his wounds again while keeping an eye on Kate.

"Kate, do you want a gun?" Juliet asks, almost snapping at her.

"No, not at the moment. Why do you ask that?"

"Because you keep staring at that case." _And its bugging me._

"Blondie, I think she is more interested in an envelope marked 'Personal Effects' that's in there. Isn't that right … _Kate_?," Sawyer said, careful not to call her Freckles in front of Juliet. He tosses Kate the keys. "Go ahead and take it."

Kate grabs the keys out of the air and looks at them with dumbfounded silence. She opens up the case, grabs the envelope and pulls out the small toy airplane. She begins to weep.

Juliet turns back to Sawyer with a curious look. "What was that about?" she whispers.

"I don't know, except she was obsessed with that case in the other timeline. I never found out what she wanted from it, but I knew it wasn't over the guns. We never talked about it, then or now."

Sawyer reaches out and caresses her face. "She's history, sweetheart. As you can see she does not remember any of this at all. I'm with you and always will be."

Juliet leans in to kiss him. "You don't have to worry about that anymore James. Listen, there is something I need to say and I should have said it as soon as you came back.

"When we were with Rose and Bernard and you looked at her, something in me snapped. I gave into my damn insecurities. I thought you wanted her more and I decided to release you because I know you would never leave me. And the thought of losing you wasn't something I could take. So I decided to go with Jack's plan and drop that damn bomb."

"I don't want …"

"James, shhh. Let me finish. When the moment came and Jack dropped it and we were facing the end, you looked only at me. … And then I saw the look on your face trying to save me from falling."

Tears form in her eyes. "I realized how wrong I was. James, I screwed up.

"So I hit the bomb, but I hit it for a different reason. I hit it to so you could go home and spare you the pain of losing me. You had suffered enough loss."

Juliet wipes away the tears. Sawyer pulls her into a hug. "Let's just try and avoid hitting any more bombs, ok baby? I don't think we are going to get a third chance."

* * *

Claire was safe. Jack and Sayid found her with Charlie at the caves. Lots of people are around. Hurley said Ethan was hunting rabbit with Locke and he pointed them in the general direction. Jack and Sayid headed off to get him while Boone went to the beach to look for the manifest.

"I think we are wasting our time Jack" Sayid said.

"Maybe so, but we will find out soon enough. I know they are hiding something, but we have to check this out. Sawyer was adamant …"

"Shhh … do you hear that?"

Coming out of the bushes was Locke, armed with one of his hunting knives.

"Jack, Sayid, what are you doing out here?" Locke notices they are armed.

"Where did you get …."

"John, where's Ethan?!"

"I'm right here," said Ethan, a few feet behind Locke coming out of the bushes. "Why are you pointing those guns on me?"

"Put down you knife, now" Sayid ordered. Ethan having no choice, complies. Jack hands Locke some rope. "John, tie him."

"Ethan, Sawyer says you were not on the plane with us and he can prove it." Jack said. "Now, we are going to head back to the beach and find out who is lying."

Jack gets a little too close and Ethan punches him. He tries to run off but Sayid hits him in the back of his head with his gun, knocking him unconscious.

"I guess we know now who is lying," Locke said.

"About this, yes," Sayid said. "But there is a lot more to Sawyer and Juliet to what they are letting on."

"Who's Juliet?" Locke asked.

"She's with Sawyer. Or maybe she's with Ethan, I don't know John," Jack said. "Tie him and let's drag him back to camp."

* * *

Kate gets to her feet, puts the airplane away and wipes away her tears. She could not make out what Juliet and Sawyer were saying, but she thought she hear a disturbing word dropped more than once.

"Did I hear you two talking about a bomb?"

"No, not exactly Kate", Juliet thought fast to change the subject. "See that big bag over there? I just brought it from another part of the island. Open it up."

Kate brings over the bag and unzips it. She takes a step back when she unveils a couple of pistols, plus lots of ammo, and a few tasers.

"Who are you?"

"A friend, Kate." Sawyer gave Juliet a look of pride. "Well, well, well - what have we here? Do they have any ammo left?"

"Only what they have already loaded in their guns. I took all their reserves at the Barracks. The ammo I brought will work with the guns we have", (including what's down in the Swan hatch armory_)_. "What I couldn't carry over here, I hid outside of the pylons.

"What about the security cameras? Did they see you?"

"They won't find anything on them. I repositioned the cameras away from the armory entrance and the security code box at the pylons.

"Great work Blon..." The conversation is interrupted by a chittering sound. Juliet and Kate see some black smoke slide nearby. Sawyer forces his still tired and bruised body up from the tree. "Did you hear that?"

"I saw it." Kate said, "We've got to get out of here."

They hear some animal cries, then the "footsteps," and other sounds of the Smoke Monster. Juliet and Kate move away quickly. Sawyer starts to move with them, but realizes he is in no condition yet to keep up.

He heads away from Juliet and Kate, attempting to draw the monster away from them.

Juliet turns back in horror. "James!" She starts to run toward him.

"Juliet, stay back!" The smoke flies and stops right in front of Sawyer. There are images flashing inside the smoke – Frank Duckett getting shot, Duckett not getting shot, Kate slapping him, Tom Friendly on the boat, Aaron abandoned in the jungle, falling into the ocean from the chopper, Juliet in their Dharmaville house, and Juliet falling from his grasp.

The black smoke hovers for a moment, turns and moves toward Juliet.

"Juliet!" Sawyer runs to try and protect her but the monster grabs him and tosses him aside. He lands hard into the ground.

"No!" Juliet runs toward him, but is cut off. The monster starts to read her mind and she can see the images in the cloud – Goodwin's dead body, James getting tasered, Danny Picket being shot, Sun slapping her, Sun and Jin getting on the zodiac raft, delivering baby Ethan, James handing her a flower, and James' anguished face above the well.

The black smoke pulls back and makes that haunting noise as it disappears.

Juliet catches her breath and sees Sawyer laid out. He is not moving.

* * *

**Note:** I really appreciate those of you who took time to review, favorite or follow me after the last chapter.

This chapter was a struggle to write and I would deeply appreciate feedback. Constructive criticism is not only welcome, but encouraged. If you don't have an account, you can leave an anonymous review. If you want to yell at me for taken 3 years to updated the previous chapter, that's ok too. I won't bite, I promise!

Oh, I also promise I will reveal (eventually) why Juliet and Sawyer are the only ones to remember!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

On the beach outside the broken four-toed statue of Taweret, Jacob sits alone and watches the waves hitting the shore. Except for the occasional visit from Richard, he rarely receives visitors. The Man in Black approaches, a few minutes after his visit to the other side of the island.

"Afternoon." Jacob said.

"Afternoon," The Man in Black answers. "Mind if I join you?"

"Please." The Man in Black sits down a few feet away. "I take it you didn't just come by because of the plane? That was 12 days ago."

"You know why I am here. I just paid a visit to one of the survivors, No. 15 – Ford. He remembers things that has not happened to him yet."

"Well, that depends on how you look at it, doesn't it? Most of those things did happen to him 3 decades ago. And even those events he remembers that happen after today, he had memories of, all those years ago."

The Man in Black can't hide his annoyance. "I also see you that No. 58 – Burke – has the same type of memories, from her point of view. She wasn't on the plane. She's been here for the last 3 years."

Jacob shrugs his shoulders. "I dispense my gifts however I see fit."

"I'm a little surprised Jacob. I thought when the bomb blew up you were just going to flash them all to the present?"

"I thought about doing that, but changed my mind right after. If it happens again I may do that instead. It's only fair I should tell you Ford's and Burke's names can be crossed out now. They are no longer Candidates. But I shouldn't have to remind you that you still can't kill them."

The Man in Black scoffed. "That's right Jacob you don't have to remind me."

"I think I do, considering on what just happened from your visit."

"Still trying to prove me wrong, aren't you? But isn't this a cheat?"

"You are wrong," Jacob replies. "Progress comes in many forms."

The Man in Black stares at Jacob, "Do you have any idea how badly I want to kill you?"

"Oh, I think you've made that pretty clear over the years."

"I'll still work my loophole, my friend."

"You do that. I'll be waiting."

The Man in Black gets up and starts to walk away. "I'll see you Jacob."

* * *

Juliet rushes over to Sawyer, and checks to see if he still has a pulse. "Kate!"

Kate runs over out of the bushes. "Oh my God! Is he …?"

"He's breathing, but just barely. Kate, I need you to bring help. Find Jack. We may need a stretcher to move him if that thing comes back. You are going to have to go to the beach first."

"What about you?"

"I'm not leaving James! What are you still doing here, Kate! Move!"

Kate runs off. With no one else around, Juliet drops her walls and begins to weep. That thing sought both of them out. It read her mind and best she could tell it did a same to him. It didn't hurt James until it made a move towards her.

"Damn you, James. Don't you die on me." Her hands shake as tears come out her closed eyes. She quickly wipes them off and shifts into doctor mode. "Stay with me James. Stay with me."

* * *

Hurley arrives at the beach from the caves bringing water for those who remained. He starts to freak when he notices Boone going through the recovered items from the plane, and making a mess of it. "Dude, what are you doing? I had that organized pretty good. What are you looking for?"

"The manifest," Boone said. "Ah, found it! The redneck said it would prove Ethan was not on the plane."

"You mean Sawyer, Dude? I was just starting to wonder if we should start a census. Was going to debate it in my head and stuff before I said anything. So why does Sawyer think he wasn't on the plane?"

Boone doesn't answer. He combs through the list, searching for his name. "Well, I don't see any Ethan in here. Looks like he is telling the truth."

"Dude!" Hurley points see he spots Jack, Sayid and Locke dragging a still unconscious Ethan to the far edge of the beach, away from the survivors. Hurley and Boone rush over.

"Sayid, Jack! Sawyer was telling the truth! He's not on the list."

"We kind of figured that out, Boone." Jack said. "Ethan tried to make a break for it. Good thing you found it though. We may need it."

Sayid starts to tie Ethan to a tree. "We are going to have to keep an eye on him all the time," Locke said. "We should rotate shifts with at least 2 people at a time."

"We are going to need to dig a pit," Sayid added. "But before we do that …"

"Jack!" Kate runs toward the group. "Sawyer's been hurt! He was attacked by that … whatever that thing is! Juliet said he is barely breathing!"

Jack runs off with Kate to find his bag. Ethan starts to awake, not sure if he believed what he just heard. _Did she say Juliet?_

* * *

Ben, normally always in control, was anxious for Richard Alpert to answer the knocks on his front door. Richard answered and Ben explained the investigation Tom was running was coming up empty. Ben still did not suspect that Juliet took the ammo but was starting to wonder if she was with Goodwin.

"That doesn't make any sense Ben. If Juliet were with him, that would blow his cover."

"That assumes he is still with the survivors. We haven't had contact with him in a couple of days. Do you think we should make contact earlier that scheduled to see if he is still there?

"No, I recommend that you send your team in late tonight (to take the 9 tallies on the list) as you planned. Its more likely Juliet went to the Staff or another station you have not checked. It's a big island Ben."

"What are you doing anyway?" Ben asked.

"I've been beginning to study the files that Mikhail and his contacts have prepared so far on the survivors."

"We'll put that off for now." Ben ordered. "Since you mentioned it, could you check out the Staff for me and see if she is there?"

* * *

Jack had no idea how long Sawyer would be unconscious. He decided to risk moving him back to the beach close by, especially if "that thing" that did this were to return. Locke and Michael made a stretcher and they carried him to his tent. Juliet did not pay attention to the whispers and stares on her and as they passed the other beach survivors to his tent.

When they laid him down inside, Jack looked him over again. "Well, his breathing is stable."

Juliet nodded and started caressing James' face as soon as Jack finished his examination.

"We found Ethan. We know he wasn't on the plane."

Juliet did not respond, maintaining her focus on her James. Jack shook his head – he wanted answers from her now, but he also knew this wasn't the time to be asking.

"I'm going back to get more water from the caves. I'll be back to check on him in a little while."

* * *

An hour later, Juliet gets up and walks around the tent. She notices several people are outside with their eyes glued on her. She realized things were much the same as when she first arrived to this camp with Jack in the other reality. It would take time to earn their trust and they may have lost her trust in Sawyer because of her presence.

She notices a map of the island that Sawyer has drawn and studies the arrows and markings. Sigh. "Yes, this would be the right thing to do, wouldn't it James?"

She walks up to the tent opening and addresses the small crowd outside. "Would one of you bring Jack and Locke back here as soon as you can?"

* * *

"You want us to what?" Jack yelled. "No, we're not going anywhere."

"Jack, I think we should listen," Locke said. Kate, Boone and Michael were also present in Sawyer's tent while Sayid led a detail to watch Ethan and dig the pit.

"No, John, we are going to take a time out!" Jack said. He turns to Juliet. "I want to know what you're story is now, and how you are connected to Sawyer. You said you were going to give us answers and I want them now!"

Juliet puts on her Otherly face on, giving Jack a cold stare. "Jack, do you know a woman by the name of Ana Lucia?"

"What?"

"James told me – did you meet a woman by the name of Ana Lucia in Sydney before your plane took off? Yes or No."

Jack sighs and nods. "How did Sawyer …"

She cuts him off. "She is among the 15 or so tail section survivors that are located here." She points at the map. "So is Bernard, Rose's husband. Now, you have an opportunity to save them TONIGHT if you leave right now. If not, maybe you can explain to Rose why her husband ended up dead in the jungle and not safe here with her. The other people on this island plan on kidnapping nine of them tonight after they go asleep."

Jack paces around the room, looking like he is about to explode.

She points to the map again. "Oh, hell. Let me go over this again. You can get there tonight. There is a sailboat called _The Elizabeth_ located at this cove. It is less than an hour's walk east of here. From there you can get to their location before midnight."

Locke breaks in. "How do you know they are there?"

"That's where the tail section crashed. The people I was with sent someone to infiltrate them just as Ethan was sent here. They will likely have a signal fire going so they will be easy to spot. They have already had 3 people kidnapped this week and they are understandably paranoid. That's why you need to go Jack. Ana Lucia will recognize you where she would likely mistake any of the rest of you as one of them."

"I'll go," Locke said. Juliet gave him a slight nod, knowing he would.

Jack shakes his head.

"Jack, I said you have to go too. It's either that, or you have to get Rose to go."

Jack stared back at her. "How do we know this isn't a trap?"

"Because I love James," she said. "Do you believe that? Why on earth would I send his doctor to be captured or be killed?"

"Right now, that's the only thing I do believe. You really expect us to believe a sailboat is a short distance from our camp?"

"No, but I expect you to believe your eyes in a short while if you get your ass in gear. There is still light out right now and will be when you find the boat."

"You're not coming with us?" Locke asked.

"Absolutely not! I am not leaving James. The longer you take to get there, the more likely either they will be taken or you will have a confrontation on your hands. You have the guns James and I gave you. Now, move!"

"One more thing," Locke said. "Who is this 'someone' who infiltrated the tail section?"

"His name is Goodwin. It would be better not to let him know you are on to him until after you get him back here. Please don't kill him."

"No promises. C'mon Jack," Locke said. Jack looked like he wanted to argue some more, but reluctantly joined him for the hike along with Kate and Michael.

After they leave the tent, Juliet turns back to Sawyer.

"James, I don't know if you are going to be angry with me or proud when you wake up. I may have just stranded us on this island. Damn it, you better wake up. And soon."

* * *

Richard arrives at The Staff and discovers no one is there. He brings one of the Oceanic files with him because he can't shake the face that is on it. Before he turns around to head back to the barracks he opens it up again and stares at James Ford's mug shot again.

**Note: I loved all of the reviews that you sent and please keep them coming. All the feedback you send helps and inspires me! **

**Since I've returned I've updated every 2-3 weeks. I plan on maintaining that pace until this story is finished. At this point, I am not even going to try and predict how long this story will go. We've been on day 12 for the last 3 chapters. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**The night of October 4, 2004**

Juliet felt helpless. Eight hours have passed. There was nothing she could do, but sit by James in his tent, try to keep him as comfortable as possible and pray he would wake up. She didn't seem to notice Hurley as he peeks his head through the tent flap.

"Dude. Is there any change?"

"No. No, Hurley, he is still …"

Hurley wonders how she knows his name but decides not to mention this. "You know, over a week ago, I was walking by here and he screamed your name in his sleep. He told me you were his lady but you weren't on the plane. What a surprise when we found out you were actually here.

"I know Sayid and Jack have their suspicions, but Dude, I think I've got to know Sawyer over the last few days and he's cool. I mean he is a good guy. I trust him and since you two are obviously together, I just wanted to say I trust you too."

Juliet forces a smile. "Thanks Hurley. If you see Jack when he gets back with the others, could you send him here?"

"Sure." Hurley leaves, leaving Juliet to turn her head back to Sawyer.

"James." she whispers.

* * *

In Sawyer's subconscious, he relives the encounter with the Smoke Monster earlier that day.

_"Juliet, stay back!" The smoke flies and stops right in front of him and reads his thoughts, hovers for a moment, turns and moves toward Juliet._

_"Juliet!" Sawyer runs to try and protect her but the monster grabs him and tosses him hard into the ground._

* * *

"Juliet! Juliet!" he screams in his sleep.

"James! Honey, wake up."

Sawyer springs up and moves his eyes at Juliet and his surroundings, waiting for his eyes to come into focus.

"Blondie?" he pants, trying to catch his breath. "Where are we?"

Juliet smiles, puts her arms around him and kisses him. "We are in same bed we have shared for over two and a half years. Where were you in your sleep, pray tell?"

"What?" Sawyer takes a deep breath. His eyes now focused, sees what is appears to be the bedroom of his Dharma home.

"Juliet, what happened yesterday? The last thing I remember was that smoke thing coming after you and it grabbing me and throwing me before I blacked out. How did we get here?"

"James, baby, look at me. You were having a bad dream. I have not seen that thing since a few weeks before the time flashes started, over three years ago. … You must have had too much beer last night. Don't you remember we were celebrating the Fourth of July?"

"Three years ago?" He says with disbelief. "Fourth of July? Are you telling me today is July 5, 1977?"

"Yes, James. When else would we be?"

"Juliet, I … I was not dreaming. I was with you in the jungle, only 12 days after my plane crashed when that smoke thing appeared. You don't remember any of this?"

Juliet, looking a little worried, shook her head. "We didn't know each other then. We didn't meet until the Others took you almost two months later. And we never saw that thing together."

"Sweetheart, we need to have a talk. A long talk. If I remember correctly, we both have the day off today?"

Juliet nods. "We'll that's good Blondie. This is going to take some time. Because in less than 48 hours, all hell is about to break loose."

**October 4, 2004**

Jack, Locke, Michael and Kate found the boat just where Sawyer's map said it was. From there, it took only two hours to reach the tailies location. As Juliet predicted, Anna Lucia thought they were The Others until she sees Jack's face after he arrives on the boat's inflatable raft.

Jack spoke quickly. "Anna Lucia, we have information that there are people coming tonight to kidnap several of you. I need you all to get on the boat where we will take you to the other side of the island. There are 48 of us back there."

Bernard jumped in. "Is Rose …?"

"Rose is fine, Bernard. She told me she knew you were alive. Now we need to get moving. Get the kids and anyone who needs assistance on the raft and the rest of you swim to the boat. It will be a little cramped in there but we'll manage."

Goodwin was befuddled. He could not come up with an argument to Anna on why they should not trust Jack, since she knew him from the plane. He decides to keep quiet and go along with them and find out what he can.

An hour later, Tom and the others arrived, and all was left was the campfire. The tailies had vanished without a trace. _Ben is going to be beyond pissed now_, Tom thought.

* * *

On _The Elizabeth, _everyone was settled for the nighttime trip back, when the introductions resumed. Except for the light coming from the galley and a couple of flashlights in use, it was pretty dark. Locke went up to Goodwin and offered his hand.

"John Locke"

"Goodwin Stanhope"

"Goodwin Stanhope? Well, Goodwin Stanhope, back at our camp, we recovered the flight manifest and I can tell you with out any uncertainty that there is no Goodwin Stanhope on it."

"Well, there must be some mistake."

"Only yours. Mr. Eko, Nathan, would you be so kind as to tie him up please?"

Eko looks to Anna, who nods in agreement. Goodwin tries to put up a struggle, but is quickly subdued. Libby looks puzzled, but for a very different reason.

"This boat … is this boat named _'The Elizabeth'_?"

Michael squeezes his eyes and said, "Yes. What of it?"

"This is my boat! Or rather it was, until I gave it to a man named Desmond Hume over 3 years ago. Have you seen him?

"Are you kidding? No, we haven't seen anyone by that name. We didn't even know about this boat until a few hours ago. A woman named Juliet gave its location to us. She wasn't on the plane but she knows one of our survivors. Maybe she knows where he is."

**July 5, 1977**

"James, you are telling me that in 2 days, Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid are going to come back here, ruin our lives and we are all going to die?

"Unless we do something to change that, yes. I know how this sounds, Blondie. I think we'll know if I dreamed all this up or not very late tonight."

"And what happens tonight?"

"Phil and Jerry are going to freak out when they spot Horace drinking and throwing dynamite at trees near the pylons. Then, they are going to pound on the door and wake us and Enos and I are going to clean up and take him back to Amy's."

Juliet chuckles while folding her arms. "Is that so? Horace, drinking? Then what?"

"Then, later that morning, I am going to ask you to do something that you are not going to be happy about – at first. In fact, you are going to be quite pissed off at me. But at the end of the day, you will be more than happy that you did it. "

"Oh, really and what may that be?"

"I'm not telling you that. It's a surprise. Tomorrow is going to be a very good day for us, and especially you. But the next morning, Jin is going to call me telling me he has found Jack, Kate and Hugo out in the jungle."

Sawyer then goes into the rest of the story in detail up to the bomb blast, including his stupid look at Kate and Juliet deciding to go with Jack's plan and how, 27 years from now, the future (or is it past?) versions of themselves will remember everything.

Juliet shakes her head. "James, how did you know that I hit a hydrogen bomb?"

"Because you told me, or will tell me, after we find each other again. But it's not going to happen this time. With them coming, our life here is over. We can't prevent that. I know that now. I tried so hard to keep our happy life here but they made it impossible, except Hugo.

"But there ain't no reason that this time we can't get off of this island and have a life that's even better then it is here."

Since he brought up "the look", Juliet decides to spit it out. She came to a point that she never thought she would have to face this. "So are you saying that when she returns that you won't want to go back to her?"

"That's right, baby. The last time I went through this I was confused seeing her and I didn't realize what it was doing to you until it was too late. I thought she was either dead or at least never going to come back. When she did, I wasn't prepared for it. I gave you reason to doubt us and I'm so sorry I hurt you.

"But that will not be an issue this time. Please get this through your head - Juliet, you are my home. I love you and I will never stop loving you. I am not an idiot like Edmund Burke and I am not going to want to stay with you just over a sense of loyalty. She will never compare to what you mean to me.

"The Juliet redux edition gets this, by the way, and I want you to get it right now. I need you not to have any doubts about that, because we ain't going to have time to think over the next few days."

Juliet smiles but still seems unsure. "And what about Dan's 'Whatever happened, happened' theory? Based on what you are saying, Dan is going to question this in a few days but his original theory is going to be proven right, because dropping the bomb won't prevent the crash.

"Well, he is wrong, at least when it comes to us. This conversation, we didn't have it the last go around on July 5, 1977. And you and I have changed the timeline several times in 2004. No one has been killed yet, except the pilot and even then he lived for a while after the crash."

"Why is it, that only you remember all this now while both of us remember in 2004?

"Beats me. Maybe because I got hit in the head in the right spot and you didn't. Or at least I hope you didn't. I don't know what happened to you after it tossed me. Maybe I died there, I don't know."

Juliet frowns and gets up out of bed.

"Julie, I'm sorry I said that. Where are you going, sweetheart?"

"I know you believe all this James, but I need to go try and digest this while I make us some breakfast."

* * *

Juliet is very quiet during and after their late breakfast. Sawyer is worried that despite everything he said, she either doesn't believe him or, if she does, she will want to help their friends even if it means getting them all killed again.

"James, what happens to the island after the bomb went off?"

"I think it only killed us, darlin. Stu, Chang and the rest of the Dharma folk got far enough away. Desmond mentioned once that Stu was pushing the button in the hatch for a while before we got there."

"The bomb doesn't prevent your plane from crashing. But maybe the bomb blast is the reason why I was brought here. Maybe it's the reason that women can't become pregnant. And maybe the blast will keep the electromagnetic pocket from destroying the island and god knows what else."

Sawyer flinches, not sure where she is going with this. Juliet's face is blank for a while and Sawyer knows the wheels are turning in that brilliant mind of hers.

"I think that bomb is still going to have to go off."

**Note: Yeah, I know. This story just got a lot more complicated. :) Like or don't like it, please review. The more feedback I get, the better. Thank you! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11- **

**July 5, 1977**

Sawyer looks at Juliet, shaking his head in disbelief and jumps up off his dining room chair. "What do you mean, that damn bomb has to go off!? For what purpose?!"

"James."

"No! I will NOT participate in anything that causes you fall to your death again!"

Juliet gets up and walks to Sawyer and reaches out to take one of his hands. His whole body is shaking. _He really experienced all of this. It isn't some wild dream. _

"I'm sorry James. I shouldn't have just spit it out like that. What I mean is I have no intention of sacrificing myself or getting either one of us near the Swan station like you say I did. I just meant that if the bomb doesn't go off, you and I would never come to this island in the future. … Ben won't have any excuse to get Richard to recruit me since there won't be a pregnancy problem, and since you say you were searching for me on the Internet before you got on the plane, you won't come here either."

"And how is that a bad thing, Juliet? Who is to say that we won't remember and find each other in the real world!"

"Maybe, but the plane will still crash here. All of the survivors will be at Ben's mercy without knowing what is going on and us there to protect them. We have to let this play out James."

"Son of a bitch. I just as soon tell Jin when he calls in that we should just turn them away and let them fend for themselves in the jungle.""

Sawyer starts to walk away from her, but she comes right back after him. "You know we have to do this, unless you have a better idea. I don't think anyone would listen to either one of us if we try to stop them from boarding that plane. And I know you want to keep them safe as much as I do."

Sawyer turns back, his hands stretched out wide.

"Like I said Juliet, I will not watch you die again. If you want everything to play out so Jack drops that bomb, then fine. Jack and Twitchy will be hell bent to drop it no matter what we say. Probably Sayid too.

"Yes, I know I said the bomb didn't go off when Jack dropped it. We'll just have to figure out another way. And when that happens I want us on that sub."

Sawyer pauses and glares at her. "That means don't be kicking Nemo's ass when he's about to give us the OJ, ok?"

Juliet smirks. "Ok."

She knows that despite his fears he is going to go along. They spend well into the afternoon going over every detail on what will happen the next 4 days.

When Sawyer makes love to Juliet that evening, he does so wondering if it's going to be the last time. Bedtime comes early, with Sawyer knowing that he is going to be awakened in the middle of the night.

It takes hours for his eyes to fall shut.

**October 5, 2004**

Sawyer's eyes pop open. He stirs and takes in a deep breath. He wants to sit up, but realizes that Juliet's head is resting on his shoulder. It's obvious he is in his tent. _Hell, am I back in the future? Is it 2004?_

He doesn't want to disturb her sleep, but she springs up when she comes to a couple of minutes later.

"James, you're awake! How long?"

"Can I have some water, darlin? Just a couple of minutes ago. How long was I out?"

Juliet hands him a bottle of water. "You have been out since yesterday afternoon, over 15 hours ago. You scared the hell out of me James. Lie still so I can take a look at you. I am going to check your eyes."

"That smoke thing was threatening you. I wasn't about to sit back and do nothing."

"It seemed to read my thoughts James as it seemed to do with … " Before she could finish her thought, she stumbles back and puts her hands on her head.

"Juliet! What's wrong, baby?"

Juliet takes a several quick breaths and squeezes her eyes at Sawyer with a look that shows both confusion and amusement.

"James? Have you been cheating on me? With me?"

* * *

"Well, you don't look like someone who has been unconscious for more than half a day, I'll say that," Jack said. "You're healing very fast. But you still need to rest for a few days."

"Thanks Doc, but I think we both know that's not going to happen." Sawyer says as he starts to get up. "I'm guessing everyone in Oceanicville is chomping on the bit to ask us questions, including you."

"You could say that. Starting with … "

"Jack, could you give James and I a few minutes alone? He had just awoken when you came in."

Jack looks like he is going to object but instead gets up and leaves the tent.

Sawyer motions to the tent flap. "C'mon, let take a walk baby."

"James, I need to tell you what happened while you were out. And then we need to discuss what changed in 1977."

"Wait a second until we are out of their earshot. Ok, go ahead. Hey, isn't that Shaft over there? And the blonde shrink?"

"Yes, about that - I found the map you drew of the boat and the island and gave it to Jack and Locke. And I told them where the boat was so they to get the tail section survivors before Ben to take them. They returned late last night with all of them. Sayid put Goodwin in a pit he dug. Oh, and they also caught Ethan yesterday. He's in another pit. They are keeping them apart."

Sawyer sighs. "You did the right thing Jules. I was planning on discussing it with you before that damn smoke thing interrupted us."

"James, what's wrong?"

Sawyer pauses, not knowing where to begin. "You and I remember everything that changed that day I went back to 1977 but everything else stayed exactly the same after I went to sleep. They still came, Sayid still shot Ben, and you still ended up falling down the well.

"That doesn't make any sense to me. Some little detail at least had to change. Those 4 days couldn't have played out the same even if we tried. And yet the day I just relived wasn't a dream, since you remember it too. I feel like my head is gonna explode."

"Maybe that means you are going to go back James. Like your work there isn't done yet."

"What makes you think I am going to go back?"

"Something Daniel told us once. His theory that Desmond was flashing back and forth between two timelines when he first left the island in the helicopter."

"Oh that's great," Sawyer said sarcastically. "Seems like I can't get you off safely this island in either timeline."

"We'll be fine, James."

"Hey!" Libby yelled as she ran up to Juliet with several others following. "Where's Desmond?"

Sawyer looks confused. "How do you know Desmond?"

"That boat you told Jack and Locke about to find us was mine. I gave it to Desmond so he could win a race around the world. That must mean he is here on this island."

"I bet he taken by them, wasn't he?" Anna Lucia sneered, pointing a finger at Juliet. "I hear you are one of them and they took three of us the first day we were here! We're you behind that, working with Goodwin?"

"Back off Rambina!" Sawyer said as he got in Ann Lucia's face. "She had nothing to do with that. In fact, 10 more of you, including Cindy, would have all been taken by THEM if it weren't for Juliet helping you last night. You got that?"

"Are you one of them too?" Libby asked. "Kate and Locke said you were on the plane, but that doesn't explain how you know her or how you know who Cindy is."

Sawyer looks at Juliet and she nods as they read each other's thoughts.

"Desmond is on this island. He ain't a prisoner of the other people that live here. He is stuck working in an underground station that's about 15 minutes from here."

"An underground station? You expect us to believe that Sawyer?" Jack said.

"No Doc, but I do expect you all to believe your eyes when you see it. … We'll maybe not you Doc." Sawyer pauses. "At this station there is food, clothes, beer and more guns and ammo that we will need to protect us from the other side.

Sawyer pauses. "Only there is one thing. …"

"And what's that James?' Locke asked.

Juliet jumps in. "This station has computers with a protocol. The reason Desmond has been stuck there is he must follow those instructions every 108 minutes or something catastrophic will happen to this island."

Everyone except Locke looks on is disbelief.

"Look, I don't give a damn if you believe us or not" Sawyer said. "But if you want all the goodies that are in that station, you are going to have to agree not to interfere with that protocol. That especially means you Jack and you Locke."

* * *

While the small group follows Juliet and Sawyer to the hatch, Michael drags Walt with Vincent in the opposite direction.

"Dad! Let me go! I want to go see were they are going! Mr. Locke seemed very interested about seeing this station!"

"Yeah it sounds interesting little man. And dangerous. And you know what I said about hanging around Mr. Locke."

Vincent barks when he sees Boone and Kate standing at Michael's destination – the raft of _the Elizabeth. _The sailboat, anchored a mere 50 yards off shore, was a temptation they could not resist.

"You two thinking the same thing I am?" Michael asked. "We have to get off this island.

Kate and Boone both nodded. They both had experience sailing and Michael saw Kate in action with their overnight rescue of the tail section survivors.

"I need to get Shannon." Boone said.

"Boone, don't tell her what we are up to until you get her back here," Kate said. "Five is plenty and we can't fill it up with everybody. And bring back as much food and water as you can carry.

"I'll go get the cooler and fill it up." Kate heads out.

"Walt, I know you said you like it here, but there are dangerous people on this island. There are monsters and polar bears that want to kill us. We can take this boat and bring back rescue for everyone else. Don't you want that?"

"Yes, but why aren't we telling everyone else?"

"Because we got to think of ourselves first son. Now help me help Kate. Everyone else is distracted right now between watching the prisoners or following Sawyer and Juliet. Now is our chance."

**July 6, 1977**

Despite the lack of sleep, Sawyer wakes up before the knock. Memories come flooding back from the end of Oct. 5, 2004. Kate, Michael, Walt, Boone and Shannon just had to screw everything up. They took the boat out, but there was no escaping the island without following the right bearing.

Juliet wakes up too, but in her case the memory flash only works one way.

"James? Come back to bed."

"I can't baby. Phil and Jerry are going to knock on the door any second. Wait for it."

Phil knocks at the door very meekly. Sawyer gets up and Juliet covers her mouth as her jaw drops. Phil knocks again a bit harder.

"What?" Sawyer calls from the inside.

"Mr. LaFleur, sorry to bother you, but we got a situation out at the pylons."

Sawyer looks back at Juliet, who is watching from the edge of the bedroom. He then swings the door open.

"What kind of situation?"

"Uh, it's uh, Horace" Jerry said.

"He's got dynamite, and he's blowing up trees." Phil said.

Sawyer sighs and turns. "You two return to your station immediately. Miles and I will take care of this."

Phil and Jerry run back. Before grabbing his jumpsuit, he pulls Juliet into his arms.

"You should go back to bed baby. You need your sleep because I will have something important for you to do in a few hours."

"And you still aren't going to tell me what that is?" Juliet asked.

"Nope."

Juliet shakes her head. "Son of a bitch."

**Note: Sorry for the two-week delay in posting this chapter. Work has been crazy lately and its slowing my focus. I will do my best to get this back on a 2-3 week rotation. **

**Please, please review and let me know if anything doesn't make sense. The time jumping back and forth is just getting started.**

**Also, if you have not done so please read and review Arcole's "Grace Period". She has done a brilliant job of covering all of the missing pieces of Sawyer's back story, and she's now getting into happy Dharma times with Juliet with her own unique view.**


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